The Halliwell Line
by Persephone LoM
Summary: In the year 2020, with the Charmed ones becoming older, the wiccan duties and responsibilities of protecting innocents begin to fall to their children. Despite their youth, it's time for the next generation to learn their ways in preparation for the biggest evil they have yet to face. It may just start with their kids.
1. Sunrise

**Title:** The Halliwell Line

**Author: **Persephone Sylvia

**Summary: **In the year 2020, with the Charmed ones becoming older, the wiccan duties and responsibility of protecting innocents begin to fall to their children. Despite their youth, it's time for the next generation to learn their ways.

**A/N: Not following the comics, so names and birthdays occurring after the t.v series may differ.**

**XX**

In the dead of night, crickets sounded in the distance, their sooth crooning blending in with the background of citizens talking amongst themselves, having conversation, or just heading home from a long day of work. The full moon was high in the sky, glistening amongst few clouds and small droplets of water splashing against the pavement it shadowed over. A gentle breeze picked up as the rain became to pour more violently, droplets turning in to a fierce storm. Despite the foul weather, a group of females stood in public beside a large fountain. They were dressed like close friends ready for a night on the town, bar hopping and the like. A closer look at these female's facial features would reveal they were anything but average young ladies. Each of them a black squiggled mark below their left eye, drooping down their cheeks, the ending swirl hidden behind thick hair.

"Should this meeting even be held above ground?" A blonde asked, raising her voice to be heard over the negative weather, the thundering sky making it nearly impossible to be heard. In fact, she wasn't even sure they had heard her question until one specific dark haired woman stepped towards her, just so she didn't have to shout.

"If we're going to take on the appearance of normal beings, we need to behave that way. That includes resting your heads at a normal residence, dressing civilized." They all seemed to glance down at their lack of clothing at her last few words, shifting uncomfortably in their positions. Water dripping on to the spandex seemed to make it tighter, constricting the material to their torso's like a glove.

"Can't we just head back to the underworld? I was far more comfortable there." The blonde couldn't seem to obey her dark haired leader, continuing to question her methods without a moment's hesitation.

"Even with the constant threat of demons throwing themselves at us? What's more beautiful than a real sky? What's more pleasant than the sensation of having water soak your hair?"

"It isn't so _pleasant_ when it takes me forever to actually do." The blonde said with sarcasm laying heavy in her tone. Without another word, her leader lifted a pale arm and backhanded her, void of any emotion. Others watched on, saying nothing in fear of receiving the same treatment. She reeled to the side after being struck, light hair whipping in front of her face, backing down. It would be foolish to say anything more after the violence her leader so easily lashed out. Slowly, she faced the dark haired girl again, a small smear of blood dribbling down her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry, Brandy."

"That's alright, Sun. Just don't do it again." Sun nodded quickly, stepping back as a sign of resignation. "However, I don't want any of you believing it's okay to behave with such disrespect. I saved all of you from your own pitiful lives, and I can easily take them away from you if I wished it. Am I understood?" Echoes of "Yes, yes..," sounded from the small group. "Excellent, let's get to work." Following her lead, the group trailed behind her as they headed towards the busy street, receiving multiple glances and looks for their attire and confident strut; not that a sight like this was so rare anymore...

**XX**

Rain rolled down the windows of the house, the warm shelter of a roof over their heads making this storm much easier to deal with. Wyatt Halliwell, Piper's oldest son, stood in front of the glass pane, admiring the war that raged in the heavens as well as worrying for his parents, on their way back from their annual date night.

"Quit worrying, you're gonna go into anaphylactic shock." The teenager didn't respond, continuing to look for bright headlights reeling into the driveway. Melinda sat beside Chris on the couch, holding a book she, along with the rest of her English class, was being forced to read for an assignment. As always, she was the last one in the class to finish reading. The test on the final chapter was tomorrow, and she was only halfway through. Any sort of distraction from the dull tale was more than welcome in her eyes.

"What's that?" She asked suddenly, wide eyes focused on Chris.

"What's what?" He turned his attention to the thirteen year old, her short legs dangling off the edge of the couch, dirty socks brushing against the ground while she held her book open, draped over her lap.

"What you said. The ana...y'know." A sheepish smile crossed her face, along with a shrug.

"Oh, it's an aller-" He paused suddenly, "You know what, it doesn't even matter." Wyatt's voice rang out, interrupting the small moment between his two siblings.

"When did mom call and say they were on their way?" Letting out a loud groan, Chris allowed his head to fall back against the cushion. His older brother couldn't be more than frustrating when it came to worrying. He definitely took after his mother that way, assuming the worst before the worst could ever occur. Unbeknownst to Chris, his brother tended to keep tabs on both him and young Melinda. Just for safety precautions. Rubbing his forehead to force away the growing headache, Chris let out a small moan of annoyance. With his lack of an answer to the question, Wyatt turned around to burn a glare into the side of his head. "What time, Chris?"

"I don't know. A half hour ago, maybe?" The older Halliwell pointed a finger in their direction, shaking it irregularly.

"See, that's weird. The ride from the restaurant is only twenty minutes." Melinda and Chris exchanged incredulous looks, both refusing to acknowledge his behavior at the moment. Two honks sounded from outside, and all three heads turned in the direction of the front door, awaiting their parents' arrival. A key slid in the lock, and after a moment of jostling it turned, a very wet Piper entering the house with her husband trailing shortly behind. Melinda chewed on her inner right cheek, hoping her mother wasn't in one of those moods. She'd wanted to ask for her permission to sleep over Bethany Kent's house on Friday night, but the answer was always no when Piper was in a "mood".

"I don't care how hot it is next time we go out, we bring an umbrella!" She snapped, pulling off her drenched coat and placing it on a hook to dry. Leo motioned with his hands for the kids to back up a few paces, warning them of her negative outlook since the storm struck them as they exited the restaurant. Melinda hid the book she was supposed to have finished behind her back, the last thing she needed was to give her mother more of a reason to be uptight. Lately, it'd been worse with the added stress of Piper's restaurant, the four year anniversary of its existence coming up. People were expecting something big like a party, when she'd really had no such thing planned in the first place.

"How was the food?" Wyatt asked quickly, before she could go on a rant. The mother paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer his question in a way that would be true to how she really felt about what she'd consumed.

"Don't even get me started on the food. I don't even think what I ate is edible!"

"Piper, that's ridiculous," Leo said in a low voice, the exhaustion he felt obvious in his words. It could have been from the tiring ride home, maybe Piper was giving him a hard time the whole way. The couple would never admit it, but lately they didn't seem as happy as they should be. It frightened Melinda more than not, and she just wanted things to go back to how they'd been. Of course, the couple would be surprised to learn Melinda even knew about their marital problems.

"Is it? You tasted that steak right? That was not steak." Deciding not to push any further, her husband put up both hands in defense. With one last glance his way, Piper shook his head and finally got a good look at her children.

"Melinda, what are you still doing up? It's past your bedtime, you know that." The girl slumped into her own shoulders, eyebrows knitting together nervously. Now, there was no chance she'd get away with asking about Bethany's slumber party. Chris and Wyatt exchanged heavy looks, wondering if they'd get the same sharp look for not making her go to bed.

"Mom, I'm thirteen. The same age Wyatt was when he was allowed to start saying up late, right? It's not fair, I'm a teenager now." It was rare that Melinda had the courage to stand up to her mother's angry side. Though Piper was a short woman, she was intimidating and not easily swayed from her opinion.

"If you start acting your age, then you'll be more than welcome to stay up late. However, young lady, you aren't obeying my rules. That shows me that you aren't ready to behave like a young adult." The thirteen year old knew she was beat, bottom lip jutting out as a last resort to convince her to just this once let her get away with it. Piper seemed to consider it, but resigned from her attitude and shook her head just as she had before. "I'm sorry Mel, but you need to go to bed." The young Halliwell connected eyes with her father for a brief moment, before he looked away in resignation.

"Fine," She groaned heavily. Stomping up the steps, she purposely made sure her feet left behind a trail of obnoxious banging. Chris ran his fingers through his bushy hair, knowing they'd have to deal with the aftermath of their mother's streak; maybe, it'd passed.

"Sometimes, I feel like I have no idea how to deal with her," She was speaking lowly to Leo, not acknowledging the fact that her two sons could still hear her. "Raising a girl is completely new territory for me, and the hormones are different. I always felt like I'd have a good handle on it, since we were all girls and Phoebe was the worst of the worst as a girl. Is there something wrong with me?"

"Piper, you're over reacting. You're not the only one that has a hard time getting to her. She's a teenage girl and it happens, okay?" She sighed and nodded her head slowly, unable to do anything but agree.

"I'm going to go upstairs!" Chris suddenly intruded on the perfect moment, receiving an elbow to the ribs from his brother. Their mother forced an encouraging smile as the pair headed towards the staircase.

"Night," Leo called to them as they ascended. He pulled his wife to him with a smile lighting up his exterior, rendering her helpless to smile back.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're just beautiful."

"Oh, please." She pulled back in disbelief, assuming he was just trying to get on her good side so he wouldn't be stuck on the couch or the opposite side of the bed. Without letting her get away, Leo lifted her chin.

"You're gorgeous, why don't you believe me?"

"I'm tired." Avoiding things seemed to be her forte lately. No longer did she face things head on like she always had, it was just easier to deal with it later. That was her motto, "deal with it later". A yawn escaped her lips not a moment too soon, and Leo gave in to his exhaustion as well.

"Alright, come on." He pulled on her hand even though she wanted to get away from his, making her follow behind him up the stairs.

"You know, Leo, you can't fix things with a plate of dinner and a compliment here and there." He paused on the staircase and turned to face her.

"Is that what you think I'm doing? Putting it on for show?" Piper bit the inside of her cheeks, immediately regretting even bringing it up to him in the first place.

"Don't be ridiculous." It was easy to believe she was lying. Not only was he good at detecting them, but her eyes were cast to the floor.

"I mean everything I do for you, Piper." She shook her head lightly. "You should know that by now."

"I do," The witch almost whispered, staring at his chest and avoiding all eye contact. "I do."

**XX**

The Mitchell Household was absolutely hectic in the mornings; especially, during the weekdays. Henry would hurry off to work with a cup of coffee and the kids would rush to catch the bus in time for school. Unfortunately, eleven year old Logan was having a hard time taking the bus. Paige assumed that there were boys messing with him, but Logan insisted he just hated the never ending bus ride filled with noisy boys and girls.

"Gloria, your lunch box!" The small brunette turned around, her light brown hair whipping around her face as she jogged back to her mother. She grabbed the red box with a smile, her eyes brightening as she ran towards the front door to wait for her twin sister. "Where's Trudie?" Paige called to no one in particular, spinning around to locate her other daughter. "Tru, honey, you're going to miss the bus again!" A perky dark haired girl bounced down the steps, taking one at a time.

"And this is why we're late!" Gloria smacked her leg in annoyance, waiting for her sister to finish jumping down the stairs to join her. "You're not five anymore, _sis_." The twins looked almost identical, except that Trudie's hair was a shade darker, Gloria's dimples were deeper and Trudie had a beauty mark below her lips.

"Don't make me hit you, again!" Another problem with the Mitchell Household; the twins were constantly bickering. Most of the time, they didn't act on their threats, but sometimes Paige had to literally orb them apart. With them getting older, it became much harder to stop their fights so Henry found himself intervening more often than not. Ignoring Trudie, Gloria turned to her mother.

"I still don't understand why we can't just beam to school."  
"Glor, we've talked about this," She warned.

"It's not fair! I have all these awesome powers, but I'm not even allowed to use them. What's that about?"  
"Personal gain, _Glor_!" Trudie felt the need to side with her mother though she didn't actually agree with her, in hopes that she'd side with her the next time she fought with Gloria. Also, she silently hoped Gloria would be punished for it, which was unlikely.

"What's the point in helping save the world if you get nothing in return?" Paige lifted her eyebrows in surprise.

"You _don't_ save the world. I do, you just stand by as moral support. One day you will, but when that day comes you'll understand the **point**." She was beginning to sound more upset, so Gloria decided to push no further. Gloria was always more involved with magic than Trudie, constantly wanting to experiment with potions she wasn't allowed to use. She'd actually been caught breaking her parent's rules and casting a few spells without permission. Trudie had a field day with that one.

Logan sat at the island table, eating his bowl of cereal with a satisfied smirk on his face. He wasn't at the center of the argument and that was always something to be happy about. Among a large family of mostly girls, it was easy to find yourself surrounded by fighting. Chris blamed it on PMS, but Wyatt blamed it on the fact that all the women in the family were strong willed; not that they aren't, but a large part of it just _had_ to be PMS. The sixth grader rolled his eyes as Gloria and Trudie began pinching each other on the way out.

"Have a good day, girls! Remember, I'm leaving the backdoor unlocked since your father and I will be at Phoebe's benefit by the time your home." Trudie threw a lazy wave Paige's way, letting her know she heard her. The woman groaned as her children shut the door, turning to look at her smirking son. "What are you smiling at, punk?" The boy chuckled lightly.

"Nothing."

"Just because you're in middle school now doesn't mean you're big and bad, don't pull anything with me!" She pointed a finger at him, narrowing her eyes in a playful manner.

"I wouldn't dream of it." It was November, and still, Logan was having a difficult time making friends. Elementary school was easy for him, everyone was friends then. However, middle school was a completely new thing for him, and all of the cliques seemed to already have been formed by the time he walked through the double doors. His sisters went to the same school as him, but being in 8th grade and female, made their interaction a lot more limited. In a way, they were almost embarrassed of him. At their school, nobody liked the 6th graders. They were seen as little kids, despite the fact that they were children themselves.

_"Paige!" _That sounded a lot like her charge, Jenna. The young woman was having a hard time adjusting to her life as a witch, and being the needy girl she was, constantly called on Paige. In fact, she tended to call on her for little things like advice on men. Jenna lacked close friends due to her terrible social skills; therefore she relied on her whitelighter far more than she should. However, she could be in trouble.

"What's the matter, mom?" Logan questioned, seeing her distracted stance.

"I will be right back! Stay here." He furrowed his eyebrows, but said nothing as she orbed away, finding herself in a crummy apartment in New York. Jenna was sitting on the couch, looking dejected and lonely. She was cautious as she approached the girl who seemed as if she didn't even notice her. As the whitelighter-witch stepped over an old Taco Bell wrapper, the crunch caused Jenna to look up with wide eyes.

"Paige! You scared me." She held a hand over her heart.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Glancing around the apartment with anxiety, Paige tried to locate any threat to her charge. It was empty, which caused her to calm down only slightly. Her question reminding Jenna of what had happened; she began to tear up again. Conveniently, there was a box of tissues stationed on the coffee table in front of her, so Paige handed her a tissue and watched with disgust and confusion as Jenna blew her nose and cried.

"God, it's just terrible!" Paige took a seat beside her, seeing how serious it must be.

"It's okay, you can tell me. That's what I'm here for, remember?" Jenna watched her, and then nodded as her chin wrinkled in sadness.

"You're right. My mother called me and we got in a huge blow up. She told me my life was leading nowhere, that I was destined to be a failure! How could she say such an awful thing?" The sobs came on heavier as the awkward looking girl lurched forward, nauseated by her own words.

"That's terrible honey, but don't you think you should talk to someone else about this? Like a therapist?" She didn't mean to sound short, but she had her own life to get back to, and this wasn't her duty as a whitelighter.

"There's no one, Paige! You're the only one who can help me."

"I was afraid of that," Paige mumbled under her breath, patting the girl's knee. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but this isn't my job description. You're a witch, I'm your whitelighter. You don't seem to understand what it is I do for you."

"You help me, don't you?"

"Well yeah, of course. But, not in these kinds of situations. When you're being attacked or harmed, that's when I stepped in."

"My mother is mentally attacking me! Is that not enough?" Jenna was outraged and insulted that this woman would dare make it seem as if her problems were not of importance. She stood up and crossed her thin arms, sucking in her cheeks, ready to blow up.

"I'm supposed to save you from the bad guys."

"My _mother_ is the bad guy." Paige held her head in frustration, closing her eyes for a moment, as if the situation would go away on its own.

"You're not getting it, Jenna. I really have to drive my son to school, we'll talk about this later."

"Fine, get out!" Jenna grabbed her Taco Bell wrapper and threw it at Paige as if it would make a difference. The light weighted object simply drifted in front of her and eventually fell to the ground. With a pursing of her lips, Paige orbed back home where her son was playing with his iPod on the couch. When he noticed her, he just frowned.

"I'm so sorry, Lo. It was my charge."

"Isn't it always?" He stood up and walked out the front door without another word. The mother stood there for another moment, allowing the guilt to eat her up. "Are you coming, or do you want to make me more late?" It wasn't like him to have an attitude with her; he'd always been the type to stay out of situations like these. Closing and locking the door, Paige headed for the car with her emotions run rampant.

**XX**

It was a stressful morning for Phoebe Halliwell; rushing to send her daughters off to school and get some shopping in before she had to prepare for her benefit. She was being praised for her new book "Love Like No Other", the critics ready to promote it after her bestselling, "Finding Love". It was going to be an intense evening, but with her family and friends by her side there was no way she wouldn't get through it. Paige and Henry would show up earlier than everyone else to help Phoebe anticipate for the event, knowing just how nervous she was. It didn't matter how many books she'd ever release, it would always be nerve wrecking to talk about it among people who were ready to both criticize and adore her.

"Mom!" Paulina screamed at the top of her lungs, a fierce expression crossing her sour face. Her arms were crossed tightly, foot stomped on the floor.

"What is it honey?" She asked without looking up as she tied the bow in Pearl's hair for her.

"Parson keeps throwing cheerios at me. She's so annoying!" The eight year old stuck her tongue out at her older sister whom continued to tighten her face. "Now she's making faces at me! _Mom_! Do something." The eldest, Pearl, rolled her eyes in disgust.

"They don't ever stop, do they?" It was a rhetorical question really, so Phoebe didn't even bother answering. Her mother pulled back to take a look at the bright red bow.

"Finished, take a look." Pearl gladly obliged, looking herself over in the mirror. She seemed satisfied enough, running her fingers through long brown hair.

"Can Brian come over after school?" Phoebe paused, unsure if this was a name she should be remembering. Usually, she was alright with Pearl hanging out with boys, but only when she would be present to make sure no funny business was going on. This time, she'd be at the promotion of her book and it would be impossible for them to hangout, anyway.

"Who is this Brian?"

"He's on the football team, mom. I need to hang out with him."

"The football team, huh? Is he a nice boy?" Pearl narrowed her eyes, considering whether this was a trap or not. It might even be better if she didn't bother to answer, so she simply turned and flattened her shirt. "I'm waiting."

"He's really nice, _okay_?" At this moment, Coop made his way from down the hall and grabbed the first cup of steaming coffee he saw sitting on the counter.

"That was mine," Phoebe mumbled, saying nothing to him. "Okay girls, are you ready?"

"Are you legit not even going to yell at Parson?" Paulina asked with an attitude that no one could miss. She was a pretty, innocent looking thing, but when she was mad she was _mad_.

"Lina, I don't have time for this, okay? Please, just this once let it go." With a scoff, the eleven year old nodded and headed outside to catch her bus.

"You better catch up with your sister." Coop pointed towards the door, sipping on his coffee. Pearl shrugged and headed after her with worry lined across her forehead.

"She better not be that bitchy the whole bus ride."

"Hey!" Her father shouted unexpectedly, not believing what he'd just heard. Pearl was never really one for cursing, even for a thirteen year old heading in to their teen years. "What was that word?"

"Nothing, I have to go, bye!" She rushed out the door before she could be scolded and slammed it shut, letting out a breath of exasperation as she did so. Coop turned to his wife in disbelief and repeated his earlier question.

"What was that word?"

"Easy, honey. It must be something she picked up at school." Their eight year old didn't seem to notice Pearl's language or her parent's concern, picking up her "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" cartoon backpack, and slinging it over her shoulder. It was almost bigger than her, which earned a lot of awe's from strangers.

"Can we go now? I want Ms. Spinelli to give me a sticker before class starts. She does that sometimes, and I'm the only one who gets one." She smirked, proud of herself.

"You must be pretty special," Phoebe said with a laugh, grabbing her purse.

"It's okay, Pheebs. I'll drive her."

"Coop, are you sure?" He pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek.

"You have a lot to get done before tonight, trust me, I got this one. I'll see you in a bit, okay?" Phoebe nodded and leaned down to kiss her daughter on the head.

"Have a good day at school, sweetie pie."

"Bye, mommy!" She hugged her around the neck and then turned and skipped out the door. Coop simply chuckled and followed behind the youngest Halliwell, a glow crossing her face as she was hit by the sunlight.

**TBC**


	2. No Church in the Wild

**XX**

If there was anything Chris Halliwell hated, it was high school. It wasn't that he didn't have friends, because he did, but even the idea of school made him shiver. The teachers were fake, the students were fake, the faculty was fake and everything seemed so pointless, sometimes. Seeing his brother made it even more difficult, considering how popular he was. There had been a few opportunities for Chris to join in on the popularity, but he more than just declined. It was never a lifestyle he wanted to be a part of, the cliques, more accurately _clans_, tending to stick together and not even care that they were shallow and vain. In fact, they tended to see it as a positive attribute.

Sitting at the lunch table, Chris picked at his French fries and dipped them in ketchup, his imagination running wild as he pictured his French fry being various things. He saw a demon with his hair on fire (probably Trudie's doing), considering her power of fire much like Gloria's power of ice. He pictured the fry being an innocent, their head bleeding from some insane attack. It was like him to have dark humor and thoughts, much to his parent's dismay.

"Fantasizing about a fry?" His friend Maura remarked, sitting across from him with their other friend Alec. The whitelighter-witch rolled his eyes and changed the subject saying,

"No, but what's up with your food? Or should I say lack of?" He pointed to her milk, the only thing on her tray. Alec seemed to just notice this as well, as oblivious as ever.

"I'm on a diet, fluffy." That was her nickname for him, his hair being the only thing to blame. She always exaggerated the actual condition of his mane, but it was fun for her to do and his reaction was always ridiculous.

"Milk diet?" Alec chimed in. "Don't you think you should eat something?" Maura pushed her tray forwards, not needing its non-existent contents.

"Thanks for the concern boys, but I'll deal. My mom mixes all natural herbs in to my tea."

"Not exactly the nourishment I had in mind," Alec responded with a snort, exchanging looks with the teenage boy across from him. The blonde didn't answer, opening her milk and chugging it down without a problem. She was a beauty, which made it hard to believe she would be friends with people so low in the food chain of high school. Originally, Maura was a good friend of Wyatt's until she went over his house one day and got a good look at Chris. He was funny and charming (in a dark, non-charming way), which kind of made her interested to get to know him better. From then on, she'd become friends with Chris and his best friend Alec, joining them for almost every event.

"What's up with Principal Palmer?" Maura pointed in the direction of their principal, a dark skinned man in a suit who looked like he meant business. He was hairless except for a shaven style over the shell of his head and wasn't particularly big, but not small either. For some unknown reason, he looked more distressed than usual, eyes roaming the cafeteria with caution. He stood by a woman dressed just as formally as him, a blonde Chris did not recognize.

"He looks pretty pissed," Alec chuckled. "I pray for the guy that made him look like that. My guess, someone's about to get suspended." The principal's eyes landed on Chris, and his feet began to step forwards. The blonde watched carefully, also eyeing Chris. As Alec noticed the direction of his walking, he turned to his friend, "You might want to run."

"What did you do?" Maura scolded, without even knowing what happened. The dark haired adolescent shrugged, shaking his head.

"Nothing, I think."

"Chris Halliwell," Principal Palmer said thickly, his large lips rubbing together in distain.

"Y-Yes?" He was nervous, despite the fact that he'd faced things far scarier than the principal. He didn't want to seem like a bitch, but the stutter couldn't be helped.

"I need you to come with me."

"What's this about?"

"Now." Chris stood up quickly, noticing that a few tables of teens were now paying attention to the intense exchange, their curiosity peaked. He cleared his throat, nodding slowly as Palmer turned, expecting him to follow.

"Good luck, man," Alec whispered, chewing on his lower lip. There was no way he could survive high school without his partner in crime, he better not have done something really bad.

"Holy shit." Maura watched as the pair left, Chris squeezing his own arm as he tried to locate Wyatt while exiting the cafeteria. There was no sign of him.

Chris hadn't noticed that the formally dressed blonde had been on the walk through the hallway with them the whole time, until they reached his office. A few secretaries' glanced up and whispered, seeing the grim line set on Principal Palmer's lips. The blonde shut the door and leaned against it, Palmer sitting down at his desk. The adolescent glanced back at her, wondering if she'd make a violent gesture. For all he knew, this wasn't his principal and she was a demon. If that was the case, they would have went after Wyatt, so this had to be real.

"Take a seat." With hesitation, Chris did as he was told, sitting across from the principal.

"Over there is Ms. Berry, she's a social worker." The dark haired boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. What was a social worker doing here? They were offered around the school for help if it was needed, but he certainly hadn't asked for one.

"Your brother will be eighteen soon, he's a senior. That's why we thought it was best if we came to you instead, since you'll be at home for a little longer." The nearly sixteen year old swallowed hard. Had something happened to one of his family members? No, that couldn't be it. The way this situation was playing out was all wrong.

"I don't understand," He said with a shaky voice that couldn't be stopped, "What's going on?"

"Mr. Halliwell… Can I call you Chris?" He nodded, unable to find words. Ms. Berry headed towards him, heels clicking softly against the carpeted office. She took a seat at the edge of the desk, her long legs shining under the cheap fluorescent light. "Chris, would you like me to cut to the point?"

"Please," He spoke quietly, not sure where exactly this was going.

"A couple of your teachers are concerned. They've noticed that you're falling asleep in class often, can you tell me why that is?" Was that what all this was about? The occasional sleeping in class? "Staying up too late, playing video games?" There was a playful tone to her voice, trying to get him to interact, trying to connect with him. He knew exactly what she was doing.

"Something like that," Demons.

"Why is it that your teachers so often see bruises on your face and arms?"

"I fall a lot." Demons.

"We're concerned, Chris. We only want to help you. It's come to our attention that you're injured somewhere almost constantly, and your brother seems to get hurt sometimes, too." Chris was beginning to regret refusing to let his brother heal him. He wanted the bruises to stay because they made him feel more human, more normal. It was the tiny bit of humanity he could hold on to, without feeling like a complete alien to the other people around him.

"Honestly, I'm just a clumsy person." He shrugged, adding a small smile for effect. From now on, he was going to let Wyatt heal him. This was out of hand already, and he couldn't let his parent's get in trouble for something that never happened. Did these people honestly think he was being abused?

"Chris, this is a safe place," Palmer said suddenly, his voice softer than in the lunch room.

"Seriously, I constantly fall, and sometimes I screw around with my brother when we wrestle." That part was true, they did find themselves wrestling around now and then, which did induce a few bruises on both their parts.

"Does your brother hurt you a lot?" She was twisting his words around, and he didn't like it.

"What? No!" His face twisted in annoyance. "You're completely misunderstanding everything I say."

"Now, Chris.." She put up her hand in defense. "I do understand, you don't have to be afraid to talk about this."

"Are we done here?" Chris cut in suddenly. His birthday was in a few days, and he didn't need more stress making him hate school. Ms. Berry sighed, her red lips wrinkling in defeat.

"Just a few more questions, okay?"

"Can you even question me without my parents present? I'm a minor." He wasn't sure if he was correct or not, but all of the procedural cop shows made it seem like he was right. Or, maybe that was just when he was a suspect. This was a totally different situation.

"Please cooperate, this is important. The sooner we finish this, the less likely it is we'll call you in again for further questions and follow ups," Palmer said, tilting his head to the side. "Do you want that?" There was a long period of silence while Chris thought this over, still knowing he was beat.

"Ask away," He gave in, twisting his wrist and shaking his hand in a careless motion, leaning his head against his clenched fist.

"Your parent's, they're together, right?" Ms. Berry asked, standing up again. Chris nodded without even looking in her direction, wanting this to be over. "Do they argue a lot?" They did, but that was normal for a marriage. He didn't want to make this worse so,

"Not really. They're happier than most couples," A lie, but it needed to be told. His heart picked up speed when she narrowed her eyes, as if she detected his fabrication.

"Would you feel more comfortable answering these questions if Mr. Palmer wasn't in the room?"

"I don't care."

"Alright, then we'll continue." This was the most pushy woman he'd ever met, the fact that she was extremely attractive no longer a factor. He strongly disliked her, and hoped there was a way he could vanquish her, even as a human. "Excuse this but, has any of your family members ever struck you?" Chris' head tilted back and he let out a fake, obnoxious laugh.

"You're out of your mind," He muttered under his breath. "Of course not!"

"You know what, I think that's enough for now," Palmer said tentatively, not wanting to push the boy any further than they must. He wanted the truth just as much as she did, but Chris was obviously not going to say anything negative about his family or home life.

"Fine," She flattened her skirt, brown eyes discoloring to a slight green. Hazel eyes did that, changing colors as necessary. Some people associate the changing color with their mood, and hers seemed to do that. "We'll meet again, Chris."

"Bye." Chris stood up and exited the office, more angry than he could say. His fists remained clenched and the first thought he had was telling his parent's. Unfortunately, he knew they would worry past the point of fear, so it was probably best they didn't know. At least, he hoped it was. Maybe, he was better off telling his aunts or Wyatt. They'd probably be able to handle it better. Okay, one of his aunt's would be able to, definitely not Wyatt.

**XX**

Evening came faster than anticipated for Phoebe, who was freaking out about how not-ready she was. She was frantic as she pulled her dress on, which didn't seem to fit over her behind, proving her assets too big for the small size. She cursed her new assistant Dana, who seemed to get nothing right. Pick up a dress, size four. Was that too much to ask?

"Please fit, please fit." Phoebe let out a cry as a rip tore down the left side. Her mouth was wide open in shock and disbelief, little sounds of hopelessness emitting from her lips. "No, no. God no, please don't do this to me!" There was a knock on her bedroom door, so the witch hobbled towards it in the tight dress that wasn't even covered her midriff. She opened it only slightly, allowing her head to peak out and see who it was. "Paige, thank god!"

"In the flesh." The door swung open and the recently dyed redhead got a good look at the disaster that was taking place. Her eyes popped open in horror and surprise. "Are you gonna leave the house like that?" The sarcasm was not welcome as Phoebe didn't even let out a chuckle.

"It ripped! It ripped! I have no idea what I'm going to do. Do you have any idea how much this cost?"

"On your salary, I'm sure it's not a problem. Why don't I just fetch you a dress from my closet?"

"Are you joking? Hand me downs?" Paige seemed offended, crossing her arms.

"My clothing is far from hand me downs. If you don't want my help, fine." She began to orb away, knowing all too well what was about to happen. Phoebe grabbed her before she could finish, bringing the girl back to Earth.

"No, I'm sorry. I was just so excited to wear something brand new and spot free. If you have something, I'll gladly take it." Satisfied, Paige began to orb again to get her sister something wearable. Meanwhile, Phoebe was getting increasingly nauseous by the second; finally having the time of day to think about just how many photographers and people with expectations would be there. "I'm going to be sick..." There was a knock at her door again. "Who is it?"

"It's Henry, is Paige in there with you?"

"One second!" She called, attempting to pull the dress back down her legs. It ripped again as she got free, but this time she didn't even care. Pulling on the simple dress she was wearing previously, she made her way to the door and allowed her sister's husband to walk in.

"You look great!" He smiled, trying to win brownie points.

"I'm not even dressed yet." Apparently, he'd lost some instead. Being a man, he really didn't give her lack of formal attire much thought until she'd said something.

"Oh, well I like your makeup."

"Thank you," She gritted out. "In case you haven't noticed I'm a bit stressed out about this evening."

"You'll do fine; Paige and I know how well you handle public speaking."

"Are you nuts? I think I'm about to implode! Someone call Piper here and have her blow me up, I'm sure it'd be less painful!" Henry shook his head with a grin, typical Halliwell woman personality. All of the girls seemed to over react in a mutual fashion.

"Where's Paige?" At that moment, his wife orbed in with a beautiful white evening gown in her arms, silver rhinestones going up the left side, a curtain swinging down.

"Shiny, let me see." Paige held it up for her, a satisfactory visage evident. She knew Phoebe would love it. "As long as I look better than you, I'm all for it." The redhead looked down at her cream evening dress and frowned. "No offense Paige, but I'm supposed to look the best. Hello, it's _my_ book launch party and I'm being interviewed by press!"

"Oh, right. Henry, what are you doing here?"  
"Looking for you." He waited for his wife and sister-in-law outside the room while she changed, and when they exited his first remark was,

"Are we ready to hit the road?"

"Road?" Phoebe pssh'd and waved her hand in a nonchalant motion. "We're orbing!"  
"We are?" Paige asked, looking concerned. "Personal gain, Pheebs."

"Screw the personal gain! We're late as it is, come on." She held on to Paige's arm in preparation. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Alright…" The group of three orbed to the ceremony, behind the building the dinner would take place in after the interview. "Hey, where's Coop?" The redheaded witch asked, remembering her sister's husband.

"He's meeting us here, something went wrong with his charge and her boyfriend."

"That doesn't bother you?" Phoebe shrugged and messed with the curls in her hair, trying to look as perfect as possible.

"Not really, I know he has responsibilities other than me." Glancing up at the sky, she was struck with panic. "It's a full moon, that's not a bad sign right?"

"Now you're just being paranoid. We're going to find our seats; you do whatever it is you have to do." Paige grabbed Henry's arm and tugged him around the left side of the building, finding themselves in a bustling area. There were cocktail waiters, glasses of wine and small tables to sit at. Already, there were photographers setting up their camera's, and the stage was ready. There was a podium at the ready for Phoebe to stand at and speak about her book, a draping at the back stating "_Ask Phoebe brings you __**Love Like No Other**__"_

"It looks great," Henry spoke, eyeing the surroundings as he held a hand at the small of Paige's back. "Piper and Leo are here." Leo seemed to spot him the moment Henry did, making his way over to them with Piper around his arm. They seemed almost uncomfortable in the way they were positioned, awkwardly holding on to one another. Neither Henry nor Paige missed this, both giving each other strange looks as they approached.

"Hey," Piper said with enthusiasm.

"It's good to see you guys." Leo shook hands with Henry, leaning in to give a small hug to Paige. Henry awkwardly shook hands with Piper, unable to give her the same affection Leo was giving his wife, considering how little they really knew each other at the end of the day. Years after they met, and still, they had a difficult time finding common ground, especially since Piper had a hard time liking anyone either of her sister's fell for. She was naturally cautious.

"Phoebe is freaking out," Paige began a conversation with her sister, trying to make the energy less awkward.

"Is she? I was worried about that. I wish I could've shown up at her house early like you did, but I had to deal with a restaurant crisis…" She felt guilty enough, Paige knew better than to make her feel worse.

"I'm sure she understands." Even with Paige's sweet words, Piper still felt like she wasn't being the model sister she usually was. It was important to Phoebe that this night is perfect, but she wasn't even there for her when she was preparing for it. Maybe, it wasn't such a big deal. There was a chance Phoebe didn't even notice she was missing Piper.

"I thought Chris and Wyatt were here?" Henry asked the couple, seeing that they were childless.

"They are," Leo answered, turning to locate them. "Somewhere…"

"Up to no good." Piper rolled her eyes, finally getting a good view of the setup. "Wow, they really went all out, didn't they?"

"Only the best for the best!" Paige agreed, holding on to her husband's arm as he admired the banner above the stage.

"They still refer to her as Ask Phoebe, as if no one would identify her by her last name." The others seemed to think about his statement for a moment. Paige finally answered,

"Well, that's kind of her signature. It doesn't bother her…I think."

"Why would it?" The eldest sister shrugged, having not noticed this before. Did this also make her a bad sister? Why wasn't she seeing things like she used to? Maybe, she was far too wrapped up in her restaurant and not there for her family enough. That could be why her marriage was failing, why her children didn't even listen to her anymore. She was a failure as a woman, a sister, a wife, and a mom. Leo saw his wife's expression droop.

"Piper, what's the matter?"

"Nothing." It was best not to talk about it now, this was Phoebe's night. Thankfully, he didn't push the subject and paid his attention to a waiter that stopped at them with a tray of wine.

"Wine?" Each adult took a glass except for Paige, who was never really one for drinking, especially when she had to deal with three kids when she got home. A headache was the last thing she needed to put them to bed.

"Where's Coop?" Piper asked, noticing he was not with them. "Is he with Phoebe?"

"No, he had a charge to take care of. He should be here by now."

"She's going to be really upset if he doesn't show up," Leo agreed, watching as a woman ascended the stairs to the small stage. She tapped the microphone to make sure it was working, gaining a lot of attention.

"Thank you for being here ladies and gentlemen." Already, photographers were snapping pictures like vultures. "In just a moment Phoebe Halliwell, our beloved Ask Phoebe, will be on stage to speak about the release of her new book and answer questions you may have. Thank you for coming tonight." With a sweet smile, she got off the stage and spoke to a man who started up gentle music a moment later.

"Chris, Wyatt, where have you two been?" The teenagers were standing by a fountain when their mother finally noticed them.

"Walking around," She then saw the wine they both held.

"Oh, I don't think so. Leo!" She beckoned her husband with her finger, who gasped when he saw what his sons were up to.

"Boys, what are you doing?"

"What? It's just one glass," Chris defended, having the nerve to take another sip in front of them. Wyatt was squeamish at the sight, knowing their punishment would be even worse just because of his younger brother's strong will. He was too much like his mother for his own good, while Wyatt was more similar to his father.

"Give me the wine, Chris!" Leo demanded, raising his voice half a note. The dark haired boy handed it over without another word, Wyatt more than glad to give his own up to his mother.

"I can't believe you two! I have half a mind to take you home right now."

"Good, I don't even want to be here."

"Chris, we are here to support your aunt. Do you not care if you hurt her feelings?" He gave in slightly, shaking his head.

"Sorry, I'll stay." Piper took the glass from Leo and walked away with the cups to dispose of them while Leo gave them a good lecture.

"I'm really disappointed in you boys. What would make you think that's okay?"

"Dad, it's just one glass! I'm not a child."

"You're fifteen."

"I'll be sixteen in three days!" Leo scoffed.

"You're not getting it. I especially can't believe you, Wyatt. I thought you were more responsible than that." The light-haired son looked down at the ground, ashamed to have upset his father.

"Are you kidding me?" Chris shouted. "You _especially_ can't believe him? What, because he's the good son? The one your proud of? Is that it!" Many people were watching the scene; one photographer even snapped a picture just in case things got out of hand and made the papers. Leo and Wyatt's heads snapped over to look at the youngest, unable to believe his temper.

"Chris, you know that's not what I meant." Leo lifted a finger.

"Of course it is. Wyatt's always been the favorite and always will be. He's the strongest, the fastest, the most powerful, the smartest, the most popular. You and mom always favored him over me and always will." He pushed past his father and through the crowd.

"Chris! Come back here!" Leo tried to follow after, but it was hard to find him through all of the people. "Chris!" He screamed as a last ditch effort, his son clearly out of sight. Being a mortal had its downfalls, and he wouldn't be able to sense him like he could when the boys were just babies.

"Dad, where'd he go?" Wyatt caught up with his father.

"I don't know. I had no idea he felt that way." None of them could deny their lack of closeness to Chris recently. He always pulled away, especially in more recent days.

"Do you want me to find him?" An applause wracked the audience as Phoebe made her way up the stage, a wide smile filled with nervousness obvious. She attempted to locate her family for moral support, but only spotted Paige and Henry. Everyone else was busy doing something else, something dramatic always happening in the Halliwell family.

"No, he's probably just sulking somewhere. We need to support your aunt. Chris can wait." He wasn't sure of his words, but if Chris was pulling a usual stunt he just needed to cool off.

"If you're sure…" He wasn't. As the clapping died now, Phoebe let out a nervous laugh and did a sort of curtsy which she regretted right away, feeling utterly ridiculous. The snapping of photo's was distracting her, the chit-chat, many faces, and bright lights on her only making it worse. She kept her focus on Paige, hoping the one familiar face was enough.

"Thank you for having me here this fine evening," She began awkwardly, positioning her microphone to better suit her height. "Wow, this things really stuck…" Trying to force the small piece of metal, she pulled on it until it nearly snapped off, finally aimed correctly. "So, on to my book. Love Like No Other is really about family, the hardships you face together, and how they can pull you through any mess you find yourself in. It's not a story, no, but a guide. It's a guide to your personal life and home, never forgetting the connection you share with those you share blood with, even those tied in to your family by other means. It's about not letting go for their sake, and for your own. Family and love surrounds you, no matter how alone you can feel at times. It's important to never forget that." Even with her words, it was hard to believe them considering she couldn't even find her family. She _was_ alone. Paige offered a reassuring thumbs up from below, turning to Henry.

"She's really nervous. Where the heck is Piper?"

"Or anyone…" He muttered back, trying to remain quiet in the silent space.

"Never forget that," Phoebe repeated lightly, feeling her heart squeeze. Coop was nowhere in sight, not being his proud, helpful self. He wasn't there to support her. Shouldn't a cupid of all beings know better? "Any questions?" Hands flew up, calls of "Ms. Halliwell, Phoebe!"

"Were you inspired by your own family to write this book?" She chewed on her lower lip.

"I was." It was low, but they heard. The unfortunate way she spoke was visible to the viewers, taking mental notes of the sadness that couldn't be misheard.

"Is your family here tonight?"

"Right there," Phoebe pointed at Paige and Henry, who shifted, being put on the spot. They offered strange waves. "The rest came too, they're probably taking a bathroom break."

"At the most important part," A woman with a microphone chuckled lightly, her insult emitting a laugh from others as well.

"What a bitch."

"Paige…"

"She can't talk to her like that. It's just not right." Paige made her way through the crowd and tapped the reporter on the shoulder, all attention on the pair, even Phoebe's.

"Excuse me, but like Phoebe just said, family is always there for you no matter what. So, do you really think _her_ family is going to let someone talk to her like that?" The reporter snapped her fingers at the cameraman to make sure he was filming, lifting her microphone to Paige's lips.

"Then where _is_ her family? Whatever your name is."

"My name is Paige, and her family is right here. Who knows where the others went? They wouldn't miss Phoebe's launch party for the world, so I'm sure they had an excellent explanation for this. You have no right to pick on them about it like a child." Henry had found his way to his wife by now, pulling on the strap of her dress to get her attention, but she was on a roll. "I don't know who you think you are, reporter lady, but you can't just go around being rude to respected celebrities."

"Are you speaking of yourself? Are you," she took a glance at Henry, "an unemployed housewife, a celebrity? Do you think that highly of yourself?"

"I was talking about my sister!" Clearly, the reporter was pulling on her nerves just to start trouble. This would be an excellent story for their news station. It wasn't exactly interesting coverage to show an author's book launch party, but a fight was more than news worthy, especially when it was between the author's sibling and a reporter in the middle of the ceremony. Pictures snapped away, and Paige was finally torn out of her haze. When she saw Phoebe on the stage, she felt self-reproach for her actions, the dejected woman having tears in her eyes, standing empty on the middle of a stage.

Photographers heartlessly snapped away at the author and advice columnist, rendering her completely and utterly embarrassed.

"Phoebe, what do you think of this?" An Asian reporter turned her attention to the dejected author. Like the average celebrity, she forced a smile past her pain.

"I think I'm just proving my point; the point of my book. Family will stick by your side no matter what you do or what happens, and they won't let anyone hurt you. Not even a random unknown face in the media industry." The reporter wouldn't forget _that_ insult; an unknown face.

Just the ceremony was finished, and the drama hadn't even begun to unfold.

**TBC**


	3. Ballroom Blitz

**XX**

The two Mitchell's were roaming around the hall the after party was taking place in, searching for anybody they could find. Piper and Leo had vanished earlier on, probably with Wyatt and Chris, and they'd missed Phoebe's entire ceremony. God knows where Coop has been, and the whitelighter-witch could only hope he'd receive the punishment coming to him via his wife.

"Don't you think you're over reacting, just a little?" Henry asked as he attempted to keep up with her while she stormed down the hallway, searching for a familiar face. She stopped and turned viciously.

"No. I don't. They could've at least let one of us know ahead of time that they'd miss the entire thing. It's not right, Henry. She's worked her butt off on that book. This is supposed to be her night."

"You're right, and it is. I'm sure there's good reasoning behind all this." Paige scoffed.

"Nothing to excuse the newspapers Phoebe's face will be plastered on, or mine for that matter. Doesn't that matter to you? Doesn't it bother you?"

"Whoa, Paige. You're not even letting me get a word it. Don't exaggerate, okay?"

"So now I'm exaggerating, is that it?" Letting out a gruff sigh, he placed his hands on either side of her shoulder, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Baby, please. I know you're upset about this, but don't make the inevitable fighting worse than it is." She gave in and leaned in to allow him to hug her, wrapping his arms around her smaller figure. "I love you."

"I love you too, guy."

"Paige!" She pulled away at Phoebe's familiar voice, seeing the girl covered in tears.

"Phoebe, are you okay?" Henry seemed just as concerned, but decided to stand idly instead of interfering, knowing the sisters needed their moment. The girl looked more than visibly upset, a wreck over who knows what. It could be about the lack of family members appearing at her ceremony, and it could be about the embarrassment that took place. Most likely, it was both.

"No Paige, I'm not! You embarrassed me out there, how could you?"

"I was defending you." She lowered her tone, feeling somewhat ashamed by default. She didn't want to add to the stress on her sisters shoulders. Rubbing a hand over her stricken face, Phoebe knew she couldn't remain angry at the only family member in visible sight at the ceremony.

"I know, I know," A large breath escaped, "I'm sorry. Thank you." Seeing she needed it, Paige leaned in and gave the other witch a large comforting hug, making the world disappear if only for a moment. Another thing she'd mentioned in her book.

"Phoebe!" Piper was making her way over to the small group with her hand covering her mouth in surprise. "What are you doing inside?" Pulling away from the hug, Phoebe turned to her sister, revealing her very unfortunate features. "What's the matter, what happened?"

"You missed the entire thing. The only ones I saw there were Henry and Paige."

"_No_, I didn't." She gasped.

"Yeah, Piper; you did. Was there a demon?" If Paige wasn't mistaken, Phoebe didn't even behave as if she was truly upset. Then again, they all had to deal with these kinds of situations for years, constantly being pulled away from their everyday life because of an attack. The redhead could only hope that was Piper's excuse.

"You could say that…" Her voice trailed off.

"Piper, was it a demon or not?"

"One could assume there was some sort of demon behind it. I got…I got really lost." Both Paige and Phoebe hadn't been expecting this lame excuse. "I was following this guy washing dishes because he told me he'd take these wine glasses away since the boys were drinking, but his hands were full. So, I followed him all the way to the kitchen and as it turns out, it was on the other side of the building. After that-." Phoebe put up a hand to silence her sister.

"Stop rambling, I get it."

"You…do." There was a strong sense of disbelief in the way Piper spoke, probably because it wasn't really true.

"Actually, no I don't. Where were you? Where was Coop? I don't understand any of this." She dropped her arms to her side, becoming more upset by each passing second.

"Oh, honey. Coop wasn't there?" Piper pulled her younger sister to her in a slight hug, not sure what Coop's excuse could be. She knew he had to take care of his charge, but that shouldn't have lasted more than a moment. Certainly not long enough for him to miss something so important to Phoebe.

"You know what, I don't care," an absolute lie, but she had to get through the evening first. "I'm really supposed to be out there mingling, so I'm headed to dining area." The group of three began to follow her when she turned around and stop them. "Just don't, I can't be around you guys right now." Piper swallowed hard.

"But, Pheebs…" Before any more uncomfortable words could be exchanged and shared, an obnoxiously loud crash sounded from the area Phoebe was directed towards. Her nostrils flared in anger.

"No one is going to ruin this night."

"What the hell was that?" Paige asked herself aloud, before they all got busy figuring it out by rushing to the dining hall. One table was turned over, the people who'd been sitting there now standing and watching as two men grappled, obviously fighting.

"Oh god, that Wyatt and Chris?" Henry said with disturbance evident, not even sure if he was really seeing the brothers physically fight. He'd seen them wrestle countless times, but the boy's had never been in a real fight as far as he knew. Wyatt was never one for getting in physical fights unless it was with a demon or warlock. Piper wasn't even sure _how_ to react.

"I feel faint. Am I paling?" She asked Paige, who began waving a hand in front of her face to cool her down. Phoebe however, was more pissed than anything else.

"Ooh, I am going to tear those boys a new one!" With tightened fists, she stomped in their direction.

"Uh oh," Paige muttered.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Wyatt growled, holding a firm arm over Chris' shoulders to hold him down and keep him from getting injured or hurting someone else. The teenager continued to struggle, attempting to throw a hit at the light haired teen, even with his arms locked down.

"Get off me!"

"Stop it, Chris. This is ridiculous!" Caught off guard, his brother flipped them over a lifted one enraged clenched hand back, ready to smash it down on Wyatt's face. The older brother was not prepared, unable to do anything but widen his eyes.

"No!" Phoebe grabbed Chris' hand, who easily pulled it away. This brought him to his senses, and he jumped off the seventeen year old and shook his vibrating hand. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm sorry Aunt Phoebe," He paused while trying to come up with something to say, "but, he started it!"

"I did not!"

"Phoebe, what the hell is going on here? Are these your nephews?" Elise's face was red hot, the greying hairs on her neck standing on end.

"I need to use the bathroom," Phoebe said quietly, backing up and all but running out of the dining hall. She pushed the swinging door open and found herself in the girl's restroom, leaning on the sink as she tried to catch up with her own breath. "Oh, god..." This was a night she'd never live down, and she'd be lucky if she wasn't fired for it. The only reason for her to not be was due to the success she'd had for years. Little did she know, there was another woman in the bathroom with her, standing in the stall directly behind her. It was Brandy, the leader of whatever group of "people" she had led to San Francisco from the underworld. She began to mumble under her breath,

"Hass, Zorn. Hate and anger reborn, I summon the queen of sorrow. To make you feel regrets tomorrow. No one will hear your cries now, choke on your lies now. Anger, I implore you." She exhaled deeply, her lips pursed in a blowing motion. Instead of air, a white clouded powder flew from her lips like smoke. Phoebe didn't even see it as it grew large and large, blowing around her and even flying out the door of the restroom. It consumed the entire building until it vanished all together. Brandy grinned with ease, licking her lips.

Instead of feeling calmer by trying to even out her breathing, Phoebe felt increasingly angry by the moment. The anger was slowly being replaced with absolute rage and hate. Someone needed to pay for everything that had been done to her tonight, this was everyone's fault but her own. All she wanted was a night of smiles, interviews, and family. This was nothing like it was supposed to be.

Everything was quiet and embarrassing for the Halliwell family in the dining hall. Leo had shown up at the tail end of Phoebe's grand exit, and was now speaking to the security guards in hushed tones, trying to prevent from all of them being thrown out. Wyatt and Chris were kept separate, the younger son standing with Paige while Wyatt stayed with Henry.

"What happened out there?" Henry asked him, not even sure why it occurred.

"He yelled at my dad, saying how I was the favorite and stormed off. I finally caught up with him and he just freaked out, it's my fault."

"How is it your fault? You didn't do anything, Wyatt."

"I hit him first." His eyes were directed at the floor, eyebrows lowered considerably.

"Why?" This was even more of a shock to Henry. The older son of Piper Halliwell would never lay a hand on someone in his family. He was a good hearted person who prevented harm, not causing it.

"I don't know, he drove me to it I guess. Chris was cursing at me, and cursing my dad. I just couldn't help myself." As the smoke they didn't see entered every orifice of their bodies, the aura of the room began to feel a lot heavier. "And if you ask me, that fuck deserved it."

"You're right, but so do you." Henry threw a punch at Wyatt, whom after receiving it, threw one back his way. Phoebe entered the room again, just to see arguing and some physical fighting taking place all around the room, with complete strangers and friends alike. If she wasn't wrong, she had just seen Elise throw herself on the security guard with an elbow to his throat.

"You son of a bitch!" Paige poked Chris in the chest. Her older sister gasped and grabbed her extending index finger.

"Don't you curse at my son, tramp!" Paige scoffed and shoved the shorter girl against the waiter, causing them both to topple over on the floor. Phoebe came out of nowhere with a jab to Paige's midsection. While she was doubled over, Chris saw this as an opportunity to get away from them, heading straight for his brother who was still grappling with Paige's husband.

"Hey, Wyatt! What do you say we finished what we started?" Holding his bleeding nose, the light haired teenager turned to see his sibling and let out a cackle.

"If you're man enough, baby brother." Wyatt tried to hit him, but Chris ducked and connected his fist with Wyatt's jaw, causing him to reel back in pain. "Beginner's luck, but it won't happen again." At this moment, Chris' social worker Ms. Berry, and a police officer entered the dining hall with shock written over their features.

"What in the hell is going on here?" She said quietly to him, hoping they weren't noticed and brought in to this mess.

"It looks like a brawl. I'm going to need backup." The officer pulled out his walkie and immediately requested assistance, describing the violent seen before him. As more cops were confirmed, Ms. Berry anxiously tapped his arm.

"That's the boy I was telling you about." They both stared at Chris, just to see Wyatt knock him to the ground.

"You weren't kidding when you said you believed he was in immediate danger." He was the first one to head forward, leaving here surveying the damage for another moment.

"I guess I wasn't," The blonde didn't seem to believe it herself, then jogging to catch up with her cop friend. He pulled out his badge and flashed it at the pair.

"Detective Proctor, that's enough!" The teenagers froze for a second, before letting out a howl of laughter.

"I can't believe you did it," Sun whispered to Brandy from the doorway, just a few of their people standing there. Now they were dressed casually, but their tattoos weren't something that could be hidden.

"I'll have to stop it soon, just so they can deal with the aftermath."

"They'll have enough to deal with as it is. That cop looks ready to arrest someone."

"We can't have that, can we?" She let out a deep breath and pushed her hair behind her shoulders. "Undo the spell I've done, let reality speak true. So mote it be." The smoke flew out of their bodies and flew back in to Brandy's all at once, in a quick motion. Everyone dropped what they were doing and pulled apart, shocked at their own behavior.

"Oh my god," Piper cried, wiping at the blood on her lower lip. Every inch of her body hurt, and she spun around to locate the rest of her family and make sure no one was damaged beyond repair. Someone could've easily been killed and the one who'd done it would never forgive themselves. Henry leaned down and pulled Leo to his feet after having thrown him against another man. Once the daze ended, Wyatt's eyes widened at what he'd done.

"Chris," He whispered, dropping to his knees next to the unconscious figure. "Hey, Chris." He patted the boy's cheek, but there was no stirring from him. He lay prone, not registering any noise or anyone trying to awaken him. "Damnit, Chris you know I can't heal you here."

"We need to get our family out of here, _now_." Henry said quietly to Leo, who nodded his head and got to work on gather the rest of them. None of them wanted to be around each other, humiliated or still fearful.

"Oh no, Chris!" Piper shouted, running towards her son. "Chris, wake up!"

"We need to get him out of here so we can heal him. Mom, we need to go." She nodded, not even sure she heard what he said. Leo and Henry got to work on lifting the teenager while the rest of them followed out, making their way to the closest car which happened to be Piper and Leo's. They opened the doors and lay Chris down on the backseat.

"Heal him!" Piper pushed Wyatt, who hovered his hands over Chris and allowed the glow to fix him up. He woke up with a choke on the air, eyes popping open. His mother placed a hand on his face, a tearful smile in place. "Oh, honey." Wyatt pulled away from the private moment, not sure if he should be near Chris.

"I should heal the rest of you."

"I'll help," Paige whispered. After everyone was healed up, they decided to part ways and get in their cars. It was best they all head back to the manor to discuss what had happened and who could be behind it. It wasn't as if they'd attack each other on a whim. Most of the cars were silent on the ride back. Piper was crying in the passenger seat.

"Piper.."

"No, Leo. Just…don't." She looked out the window, unable to see his face or either of her son's through the rearview mirror. The two in the backseat were far apart, the awkwardness unavoidable.

"Chris…" Wyatt started silently, slowly allowing his eyes to trail to his. At first, it seemed as if there wouldn't be a reply until,

"Yeah?"

"Do you hate me?"

"Don't be ridiculous. It was a spell." His words were hollow and emotionless, but they both knew Wyatt wasn't referring to that part. He was talking about before the spell took place, the real fight they had.

"Not that part."

"Not now, Wyatt." He rubbed his arm, staring down at his lap as if his legs were about to vanish. Nothing else was said for the rest of the ride, each vehicle showing up at about the same time. Piper and her family were the first to get inside, seeing Melinda sitting on the couch and texting, clearly not in bed like she was supposed to be.

"I can explain!" She immediately defended, but let it go when she saw her mother's face. She wasn't even looking at her, tears dripping down her cheeks. Melinda stood up and made her way over to her immediate family. "What happened?" She whispered to Wyatt.

"Something bad," As everyone else piled in the house, pulled his sister to the side. "You should probably go upstairs."

"Wait, why? Did a demon attack?" At that exact moment, Paige interjected.

"Melinda, you should head upstairs. We'll fill you in later." As Melinda heard her aunt's words, she knew they were lies. No one ever told her anything, always assuming she was this fragile child. No, she wasn't a child. She was finally in 8th grade and they needed to start treating her like a woman!

"No, I want to be here."

"Melinda, this is serious." With an exaggerated moan, she shoved past the ones she loved and made her way up the stairs. It wouldn't hurt if she just peaked… She sat down by the railing, head popping out to watch and listen. There was a long period of silence, much more quiet than it usually was with her crazy family. Piper was the first one to break down, Leo pulling her to him.

"I'm so sorry," She said through her sobs. "I didn't mean to hurt either of you." It was directed at Phoebe and Paige.

"Piper, it's okay," Leo attempted to reassure her.

"No, it's not okay! I hit my sisters. How is that ever okay?" Wyatt felt that statement hit home, eyes stationed on Chris' still figure. Phoebe and Paige stepped forward at a mutual pace, each wrapping one arm around one side of their older sister.

"We love you," Phoebe placed a kiss in her hair. "It was a spell, you know that. This was no one's fault but the person who cast it."

"I'm so sorry for ruining your night."

"It was destined to be ruined anyway. Someone had that spell planned."

"What about Coop?" Paige chimed in. The middle child sighed, shaking her head.

"I-I don't know. I'll deal with him later, I just hope he is okay."

"Why don't you just beam him here?"  
"If he wanted to be here, he would be. We need to talk about what happened tonight." Piper held up a finger, and idea striking her. Everyone turned their attention to the witch requesting the spotlight.

"Wyatt and Chris were fighting even before the spell took control of everyone. Maybe, the magic originated from their fighting. Two powerful witches getting in a big blow up, couldn't that trigger Wyatt's power to release something dark that caused everyone to behave the same way?" As much as they needed to resolve this, she hoped it wasn't true. Her son couldn't be capable of hurting that many people so easily.

"I guess, anything's possible." Leo shrugged, turning his attention to his two sons. "You two need to stop ignoring each other."

"He's ignoring me," Wyatt said angrily. "I'm sorry Chris, I am. I don't know what came over me."

"Why are _you_ apologizing?" Chris approached him. "I started all of this by storming off. I'm the reason everyone missed Aunt Phoebe's ceremony, and I'm the reason we fought. I started the dominoes falling." Melinda was beginning to understand what they were talking about, but it _still_ made no sense.

"Nobody blames you, honey," Phoebe smiled at him sadly. After seeing what time it was, Phoebe gasped. "As important as this meeting is, it's late and I can't leave Pearl babysitting at this time at only thirteen. Tomorrow?"

"Absolutely," Paige agreed. The group dispersed and everyone headed to their rightful homes. Anyone or anything could be behind this terrible event, and the group could only hope they could stop these people. Phoebe however, was worrying that they may not be able to locate a spell to make all of the involved parties forget the brawl ever took place. Her ass was on the line.

At this point, Melinda had slowly made her way back down the steps. She didn't care that it was past her bedtime. Her family was clearly in trouble and she needed to know what was wrong. She wouldn't sit on the sidelines; it wasn't natural for a Halliwell to do so.

"This is stressing me out," She heard her mother sigh. "Who has the power to get an entire building to fight with each other, including us?"

"Piper, don't let it upset you. We'll figure it out." Her husband's words didn't sooth her, still retaining the memory of her fist slamming against the faces of people she didn't even know, and those she cared about. Chris cleared his throat to gain their attention, nodding in Melinda's direction when they finally noticed him.

"Mel," Piper stood with Leo by her side. "You're supposed to be in bed, honey."

"What's going on?" She refused to acknowledge her mother's comment, stepping forwards with an intense glare much like Piper's. Her arms were crossed in defiance, allowing her tangled hair to frame her concerned and bold appearance. She sucked on her upper lip while she awaited an explanation, watching their worried faces cautiously. They were going to try to sneak past her, avoid the topic. It was something they did often around her and the topic of magic, as if she didn't eavesdrop, anyway.

"Someone cast a spell on us, tonight." Piper felt the best way to deal with the situation was to be forward with her daughter. She'd find out eventually, they had no idea who put them in danger like that and Melinda had to be just as careful as them. "Which is why we all need to take a few precautions."

"What kind of precautions?" Wyatt crossed his arms, listening intently.

"I-I don't know yet, a protection spell of some sort. Maybe even a charm, anything."

"What kind of spell did they cast?" The thirteen year old asked quietly, not even sure if she wanted to hear the answer. With the way they were all shaken up, it could've been anything. She'd never seen her family this disoriented because of one bad guy. Leo placed his hand on Piper's back, letting her know he'd take care of this one.

"Something, that made us very mad at each other for no reason at all." Melinda nodded slowly, trying to comprehend just what he was saying.

"That's it?" Chris kept his head down, not wanting her to detect a lie if he were to speak up.

"That's all that matters," Piper made her way over to her daughter, heels clinking against the wood. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"I'm not four mom, I can go on my own."

"Hey, I need an excuse to get out of here." The pair ascended up the stairs and Leo turned to his two sons, looking at them expectantly. Neither one of them said a thing, continuing to stand in their still positions.

"Are you two alright? I know you were healed, but tonight could prove to be traumatizing." Chris let out a snort of laughter and shook his head with distaste clear in his speech,

"Believe me dad, we've been through worse. I think you know that." He didn't want to continue this awkward conversation any further, so he followed the same path as his mother and sister, not wanting to be near the brother he'd struck, or the father he'd humiliated. The room was silent for another moment before Wyatt and Leo decided to part ways as well. Everyone just needed a little space for the rest of the night.

**XX**

When Paige and Henry got home, their children were already in bed, except for Logan who was sitting in the kitchen eating microwaved marshmallows. He cursed not having telekinetic orbing to hide the food from his parent's when they came through the front door with exhaustion evident on their worn faces. Surprising him, they didn't seem to care about the junk food lurking on the table.

"Why are you still up?" Henry asked, taking off his thick jacket and handing it to Paige, who placed both jacket's in the closet. Logan quickly put the food away while he answered, prepared to be scolded.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep." It was a blatant lie, but maybe they wouldn't catch on. He really just wanted to hangout and have a good time for as long as he could before they got home and forced him into bed. It was rare that he got to stay up with no parental supervision, unless of course it was a weekend and the duo were on date night, or Paige was battling the supernatural with his aunts.

"Get to bed, please." Paige sounded even more tired than she looked, running her fingers through loose curls that were slowly dropping and reverting to their formal straight state. Seeing the twinkle in Paige's eye, Logan jumped off the stool and rushed down the hall. Henry was leaning against the table, his mind somewhere else. "Talk to me, please." Contrary to her hopes, he didn't even twitch in response. She stood there, refusing to walk away.

"What do you want to talk about, Paige?" He turned around, sour and obviously feeling guilty. "I actually hit a kid. Can you believe that? I hit Wyatt. I still remember the feel of his skin as I punched him down. Why didn't he use his powers on me? Why didn't he defend himself?"

"Slow down, Henry." She turned him to face her, taking his hands in hers and rubbing her thumb over the back of his. "You need to take it easy, you can't beat yourself up over something you can't control. I don't know why none of us used our magic, I'm just glad we didn't. Not only would it have exposed us, but it would have done a lot more damage. Not all of us would have walked away with a scratch and bruise."

"I just don't understand. You'd think after all these years I'd have some idea, but I just don't. I stand out so much among all your magical friends and family. Our own kids can do anything, anything at all. Damnit, I can't even protect my own children."

"Henry, please don't do this to yourself. Someone did this, and I'm going to find out whom." He allowed himself to fall on to the stool, continuing to deny the things she said to him. He didn't deserve to be reassured after what he did.

"I hurt people. I hurt _kids_." The witch closed her eyes tightly. He was not going to listen to her, certainly not tonight. Placing a hand on his cheek, she wondered if there was anything that could be done. He didn't even register her touch, thoughts on something else entirely.

"I love you Henry."

**XX**

Phoebe was in tears; even as she drove, and even as she walked through her door. She had no idea where Coop was, and she had no idea why the night had been so destroyed. She was so close to giving up and summoning him with her mind, sick and tired of waiting for his arrival. The lights were all off, the woman thankful that all three of her children had been able to put themselves to sleep tonight. Parson was probably a handful, but it was nothing Pearl couldn't handle. The entire house felt still to her, as if frozen. Something was wrong, something was off. She closed her eyes and thought of her husband, summoning him to her. When she opened her eyes, she saw him in front of her, on his hands and knees and in tears.

"Coop," Phoebe whispered, dropping to her knees and cupping his face with her hands. "What happened?" It was natural for her to assume the worst after a night of dreadful nightmares coming true. When one thing went wrong, everything else fell out of place with it.

"Phoebe…" He sounded broken, leaning forward and dropping his head to her shoulder, body lurching in sorrow.

"It's okay, you're home."

"No, it's not okay." Coop pulled back so she got a good look at his face, tears swimming in chocolate eyes, nose brightened red. "Phoebe, my charges are dead." A shiver went through her body.

"What? What are you talking about?" She rose to her feet, helping him pull up as well. Before any more terrible statements could be made, Phoebe brought them to the couch before he lost all balance and collapsed. Once she had him leaned against a large blue pillow, she continued. "What happened, Coop?"

"I told you something was wrong with my charge and her boyfriend, right before we were going to your event. I went to her, and she was dead. I thought he might've done it, but after checking the house, I found him in the bedroom," A sob passed through him. "There was so much blood."

"Who would do something like that?"

"I don't know, all I remember is having the knowledge that all of them were in trouble."

"All of them?" She slowed down. "All of _who_?"

"My charges, there were so many in trouble. I could feel their hearts breaking as they watched their loves die, taken by death just moments after them. A lot of them are dead, Phoebe. Why are they dead?"

"Oh my god," Even as he told her, she couldn't bear to believe it. People were killing his charges, they must be targeting him. It was a message, an obvious one, but why was someone going after him? He was a cupid, a man of love, not a demon fighter. It didn't make any sense to her, unless they were using her husband to get to her and her sisters. If that were the truth, Henry and Leo were in trouble, too. "I'm so sorry, baby." She pulled him to her and placed butterfly kisses all over his desperate face, lips touching his tears softly. "We're going to figure this out."

**TBC**


End file.
